1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and arrangement of ascertaining the maximum or minimum among a plurality of data words which are sequentially arranged in a list, and the data word number thereof, and more specifically to such an arrangement and method which especially features the rapid determination of the data word number which is the maximum or minimum in the list. Merely for the convenience of description, the term "data word" in the instant disclosure, may imply a piece of data itself as well as a value thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to determine the maximum or minimum among data words which are sequentially arranged in a list within a suitable memory, it is well known in the art to compare data words on a one by one basis. If the maximum value among the data words in the list needs to be determined, the first two data words are obtained from the memory and then compared, and the higher valued one is retained together with the data word number thereof and the other is discarded. The retained data word is then compared with the third data word, and the higher valued one is retained with the data word number thereof. Thus, the maximum data word is eventually specified together with the data word number, after all the data words have been compared one by one.
However, this technique suffers from the drawback that it is very slow in the event that the list includes a large number of data words.